Listening Item: Dialect to MSA and Register Marking
You are writing the mark scheme for a listening item in a mock IM Arabic paper. Candidates hear a 35-second clip of a Beirut speaker saying: 'هلّق بدّي روح عالسوق، بس ما معي مصاري. شو رأيك نستنّى أخوي؟' The question asks: 'What does the speaker want to do, and what does she suggest?' and instructs candidates to answer in MSA. Candidate A writes: 'الآن أريد أن أذهب إلى السوق، لكن ليس معي نقود. ما رأيك أن ننتظر أخي؟' Candidate B writes: 'حالا أريد الذهاب للسوق، لكن ما عندي فلوس. شو رايك ننتظر أخي؟' A colleague says both are correct because the meaning is the same; another says B should get zero because the answer is not in MSA. You must decide the boundary between meaning and register, and write guidance for markers.
1. List the dialect features in the clip and give MSA equivalents.
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هلّق = الآن; بدّي = أريد; روح = أذهب (in 'بدّي روح', 'أريد أن أذهب'); عالسوق = إلى السوق; بس = لكن; ما معي = ليس معي / لا أملك; مصاري = نقود / مال; شو = ما; رأيك = رأيك; نستنّى = ننتظر; أخوي = أخي. The syntax also differs: 'بدّي روح' is a colloquial modal construction, while MSA prefers 'أريد أن أذهب'. 'ما معي مصاري' is a possessive existential negative; MSA can use 'ليس معي نقود' or 'لا أملك نقودًا'. These are the features that a candidate must convert if the rubric says 'answer in MSA'.
2. Evaluate candidate A's 'ليس معي نقود' and 'ما رأيك أن ننتظر'. Are they faithful and MSA?
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Both are acceptable. 'ليس معي نقود' is MSA and preserves the existential nuance of 'ما معي مصاري'; 'لا أملك نقودًا' is also good but slightly more formal. 'ما رأيك أن ننتظر' is MSA; 'ما رأيك بأن ننتظر' is more formal, but the bare 'أن' is common and not a dialect feature. 'الآن' correctly renders 'هلّق'. 'أريد أن أذهب' correctly renders 'بدّي روح'. The only small loss is that 'مصاري' is colloquial and vague; 'نقود' is the neutral equivalent. Candidate A should get full content and full register credit unless the rubric demands only one specified structure.
3. How will you mark candidate B, and what feedback will you give?
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B understands the clip: 'أريد الذهاب' and 'ننتظر' are correct, and 'ما عندي فلوس' conveys the negative possession. But 'حالا' means 'immediately', not exactly 'now'; 'ما عندي فلوس' is colloquial; 'شو رايك' is Levantine. If the item has separate content and language marks, award content fully and deduct on language/register. If it has one mark, award partial, not zero: zero would punish comprehension for a register error and would not distinguish B from a candidate who misunderstood. Feedback: 'You understood the message. Now convert the whole answer, not just the verbs: ما عندي فلوس -> ليس معي نقود; شو رايك -> ما رأيك; حالا -> الآن.'